Laura Mercier Mystere Eye Shadow Duo- Cinema Noir Fall 2012 Collection

Last winter during Fashion Week, the makeup artists for Laura Mercier who worked backstage on Jenny Packham's F/W 2012-2013 show created a 1940s-inspired film noir look. It seems that the idea trickled down to Laura Mercier's own (pre?) fall collection, Cinema Noir. Last week I gave you a sneak peek of the two items I chose (so far. I think the burgundy mascara and a lipstick or two might join them at some point). Here are the swatches and impression of Mystere eye shadow duo.

Mystere includes two very appealing and easy to wear shades. One side is a matte medium taupe with a wonderful almost creamy texture. It's an excellent base color that can be worn on its own on super lazy days or for a no makeup look. The eye shadow blends beautifully and goes with just about anything and everything. The other side is a shimmery blackened navy. It swatched poorly on my arm, but looks lovely on and more saturated on the lid, with the shimmer looking far less obvious. It's not as blue as it appears in the pan and can be considered a neutral. I've used it as a liner with damp pencil and smoky eye brushes, and also applied both shades over a cream base to intensify the color. If I were a minimalist, Mystere could have been a daily go-to product for me.

Now, these are not exactly original colors. Most of us have several taupe and navy eye shadows in our collections. The look one gets from Mystere can be achieved with other product combinations (out of the top of my head I can name Le Metier de Beaute's Midnight Sky and Clay single eye shadows as close relatives). But it is a great compact of high quality pretty colors, so I'm quite happy with it.

Bottom Line: pretty and reliable.

Laura Mercier Mystere Eye Shadow Duo ($22) is slated for release next month, but some counters already have it (I got mine from Saks at The Shops On Riverside, NJ).

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